Tag Archives: U.S.-Iran Relations

1914: Russian, British, and German troops occupy the country during WWI.

1935: Reza Shah had the official name of the country changed from Persia to Iran.

1941: During WWII, Reza Shah is forced by the Allies to grant the throne to his son, Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi due to his alleged pro-German sentiments.

1951, the Majlis (Parliament of Iran) named Mohammad Mossadegh as new prime minister by a vote of 79–12, who shortly after nationalized the British-owned oil industry (see Abadan Crisis). Mossadegh was opposed by the Shah who feared a resulting oil embargo imposed by the West would leave Iran in economic ruin. The Shah flees Iran.

1953-1979: Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi makes Iran a rentier state (economy based on the selling of some commodity) based on oil and import substitution industrialization (focus on capital-intensive industry) which led to the neglect of agriculture and small-scale production.

The 1953 Iranian coup d’état was the first time the U.S. used the CIA to overthrow a democratically elected, civil government. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, encouraged by his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, a defender of transnational corporate power, agreed to send the Central Intelligence Agency in to depose Mossadegh ending democracy in Iran.

By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan It was a bad week for dictators, and a good one for international justice. Two brutal, U.S.-backed dictators who ruled decades ago were convicted for crimes they committed while in power. Hissene Habre took control of the northern African nation of Chad in 1982, and unleashed a reign of terror against his own people, killi […]

We continue our conversation with Dave Zirin, author of the book "Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy," and Jules Boykoff, author of "Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics." In early August, more than 10,000 athletes across the world will convene in Rio de Janeiro's […]

Extended interview with Setsuko Thurlow, who survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing, about the bombing of 1945 and her push to eliminate nuclear weapons. On August 6, 1945, Thurlow was at school in Hiroshima when the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on a civilian population. She has been an anti-nuclear activist for decades. Watch Part 1

Holocaust survivor and peace activist Hedy Epstein has died at the age of 91. Epstein was born in Germany and left in 1939 on a Kindertransport to England. Her parents died in Auschwitz. She later returned to Germany to work as a research analyst for the prosecution during the Nuremberg trials. She was involved in civil rights and antiwar movements throughou […]

By Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan Thursday, Jan. 28, was a cold morning in Durham, North Carolina. Wildin David Guillen Acosta went outside to head to school, but never made it. He was thrown to the ground and arrested by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ). He has been in detention ever since. Wildin, now 19 years old, fled his home […]

This week we speak to NY Daily News sports writer Charles Modiano about his writing on the NFL's coaching hires over the last month: hires that have all but practically eliminated black head coaches from the league. Also we also have ‘Choice Words’ about the case of Maori Davenport. If you don't know it, you should. In addition we have the ‘Just S […]

This week we pay tribute to filmmaker Bill Siegel who passed away last week. Bill Siegel is known as the director of what I believe to be the best boxing documentary ever made, The Trials of Muhammad Ali. We play an interview that the podcast did with Bill Siegel after the death of Ali in 2016. Also we have Choice Words about the late great Bill Siegel, his […]

This week we speak to Robert Abbott, director, producer, and narrator of the 30 for 30 film The Last Days of Knight. We talk to the director about his film, Neil Reed’s courage, and why the coach remains a compelling figure inside the world of sports. Also we have Choice Words about the continued NFL collusion against Colin Kaepernick, specifically the Wash […]

This week we speak to the commissioner of the West Coast Conference, Gloria Nevarez, the first Latina commissioner of a Division I conference, about the challenges in a conference better known for schools like Gonzaga than Ohio State. We also have ‘Choice Words’ about the NFL’s hypocrisy and violence against women, ‘Just Stand Up’ and ‘Just Sit Down’ awards […]

House ethics rules bar lawmakers from accepting travel and related expenses from registered lobbyists. The House Majority Leader has said that his expenses on a 2000 trip were paid by a nonprofit organization, and that the financial arrangements for it were proper.

Five months after President Bush launched his drive to overhaul Social Security, the difficult, if not impossible, task of drafting legislation begins Tuesday when the Senate Finance Committee holds the first hearing on options to secure Social Security's future.

Years ago, the federal government spent $117 million on an experimental "clean coal" power plant in Alaska designed to generate electricity with a minimum of air pollution -- but the project never got up and running.